


Magic at the Heart of Camelot

by garbage_will_do



Series: Season 5 Fics [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Episode s05e03: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon, Infidelity, M/M, Magic Revealed, Missing Scene, what if...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 17:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/652778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garbage_will_do/pseuds/garbage_will_do
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Arthur heard the exchange between Merlin and Uther in the council chambers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Magic at the Heart of Camelot

Merlin watched Arthur during the feast. He knew how hard it was for the young king on the anniversary of his father's death. And it didn't matter if he was happy that Uther was gone and Arthur was finally on the throne. It always hurt him to see his lover in pain.

 

Gwen whispered something into Arthur's ear that Merlin couldn't hear. Arthur whispered something back and shook his head in reply, then stood and left the banquet hall. The queen and servant exchanged a glance. Merlin made his way over to his oldest friend, and used an offer of wine as an excuse to lean down and speak to her. "How is he?" he asked.

 

"Same as every year, Merlin." She attempted a reassuring smile, but knew it fell flat. "Why don't you go? Arthur's no longer here, you don't have to keep serving."

 

"Will you speak to him later?"

 

Gwen gave him such a knowing look that he sometimes wondered if she knew about the affair between her husband and his manservant. "Why don't you talk to him, Merlin? He listens to you, and you've always been able to bring him out of his moods before." When he looked ready to protest, she cut him off. "Arthur counts you as a true and loyal friend. He trusts you above all else. Go talk to him, please." Merlin nodded and straightened up, leaving the jug of wine in the queen's reach, before following Arthur's path from the hall.

 

He found his king in the crypt holding Uther's tomb. His head was bowed as he stood before the casket bearing his father's body and sculpted image. Merlin stepped forward quietly so as not to startle his lover. The sword strapped to his hip may have been ceremonial, but that didn't mean it wasn't sharp.

 

"Arthur? Are you alright?"

 

The blonde's shoulders tensed slightly at his voice, and relaxed a moment later. Arthur turned to see Merlin standing just behind him, trying to give a reassuring smile. He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist, and leaned his head against the shoulder in front of him. Merlin automatically returned the embrace and pulled him in closer. "I'm fine," came the mumbled reply. "Sometimes, I just wish I could talk with him again." The servant stayed silent knowing when Arthur was in this type of mood, that it was best to just offer his presence as comfort. Minutes passed, and the lovers stayed in each other's arms until Arthur finally stepped back and pressed a kiss into the crook of Merlin's neck. "Come to bed?"

 

"Arthur..." Merlin was about to decline, but when he saw the plea in those blue eyes said, "Okay, but I can't stay."

***

Arthur always knew his father would disapprove of some of the changes he had made to Camelot, but for Uther to completely disregard all the good that had come from it. But he had damaged the round table, injured Percival, and nearly killed Guinevere. It went far beyond disapproval. The one thing that brought him peace of mind was that Uther had overlooked his relationship with his manservant. He didn't know what he would do if something happened to Merlin because he just had to turn around and take one final look.

 

The blow to the back of his head came as a surprise, and he briefly wondered what hit him before falling to the floor. He didn't know how long he was unconcious, but it must have been only a few moments. He stirred and saw the blurry outline of his father's ghost standing over him, and Merlin standing by the throne, saying, "I am much more than that."

 

 _No_ , he thought. _Merlin, shut up!_ There was the sound of something heavy scraping against stone, and a moment later it falling with a bang.

 

"You have magic." _What? No. Nononono, no. Merlin have magic? That's not possible, I would know. Magic is evil, it corrupts all that is good in the world. Merlin is the complete opposite. There is no way he could be evil._ Arthur struggled to keep his eyes open and focused on the outlines of his father and lover.

 

"I was born with it!" Merlin shouted. Arthur's heart stopped. Merlin was admitting to using magic. _He's been lying to me this whole time. I thought he trusted me..._

 

"I made you Arthur's servant. You are a sorceror."

 

"Even while you were king, there was magic at the heart of Camelot." And he could see him now, though his vision went in and out. The servant was standing taller than he ever had, radiating power, and Arthur just knew that he was truly seeing the man now. There had been glimpses, he realized, when Merlin had a moment of wisdom, or stood between an attacker and his king.

 

"I will not allow you and your kind to poison my kingdom!" Uther's words rose until he was shouting. The ghost strode towards Merlin, who was saying something over and over until he could finally make it out. Uther stopped in his tracks just before the young man. Arthur tried to get his limbs to work, to grasp the horn at his side. Because even though he lied all these years, Merlin didn't deserve to die... At least not until Arthur got answers to the questions in the back of his head.

 

"You're wrong. About so much... Arthur is a better and more worthy king than you ever were." Arthur froze. That didn't sound like something a sorceror would say, especially because the laws hadn't changed in the years of his reign. But it _was_ something Merlin would say.

 

Uther roared, then went flying back as Merlin seemingly pushed the dead king all the way through the closed door. _So, it's true... Merlin has magic._ The man ran to Arthur's side, and let out a relieved`huff when he saw the young king starting to wake up. Arthur felt familiar, long fingers push his blonde hair from his face and curl his hands around the Horn of Cathbadt. Then Merlin was gone and the doors to the room were pulled open. Arthur could see Merlin look back and forth in the hallway, no doubt seaching for Uther. Something caught his attention to the right, and then he was gone, unaware Uther was right behind him.

 

As soon as he was able, Arthur scrambled up and ran after the pair of men. No matter what happened, he couldn't let Merlin get hurt by his hatred-fueled father.

***

Arthur brought the horn to his lips just as Uther said, "Merlin has-". _Magic_ , his mind supplied. Luckily he had made it in time, though his heart had stuttered seeing Merlin pinned to the armory door with two spears. Through his own unshed tears, Arthur could see the palpable relief on Merlin's face. The servant leant his head back against the wood grain, and let out a shuddering breath.

 

"So, it's true," the blonde mummered. Merlin's head snapped up and his eyes widened in fear, his breath speeding up. "You have magic."

 

"Arthur-" Whatever he was going to say, he cut off and swallowed, meeting the king's eyes with his usual defiance. "You heard, then." He broke the connection momentarily, and with a flash of gold eyes the spears were dislodged and clattered to the floor. Arthur could see his shaky knees from across the room, and soon the sorceror was sliding down the wood door at his back. "This isn't really how I imagined you would find out, you know? I always thought it would be during a battle or if we were attacked by bandits on a hunt, and I would kill them in a blaze of glory and you would finally see _me_. Then you would have to decide whether or not to kill me or banish me or maybe you would repeal the law and appoint me Court Sorceror..." His eyes returned to Arthur's and he laughed bitterly. "Well. Let's be honest. It wasn't likely that would ever happen...

 

"Then I imagined it happening on a peaceful day. You would come back from a council meeting and find me sleeping by the fire while your armor polished itself." Merlin laughed at that, seeing the king's baffled look in his mind. "Or maybe... Maybe I would _finally_ tell you." Merlin swallowed the lump in his throat, and the tears started to fall. " I wanted to, Arthur. I swear to you that I never wanted to lie. There were so many times I tried to tell you."

 

"What stopped you?" Merlin's eyes snapped up to his face, apparently not expecting him to speak. "Why didn't you tell me, Merlin?"

 

"Because you would of chopped my head off." He smiled broadly, and then it faded a little. "At least at first. Then it was because I didn't want you to choose between me and your loyalty to your father. So, I thought 'when he's king, I'll tell him when he becomes king'. But do you remember what you said the night your father died, Arthur? You said that 'magic is pure evil' and you 'would never lose sight of that again'. You left me no _choice_!" he shouted and the torches briefly flared. Merlin put his head in his hands, digging the heels into his eyes. Finally, he took a deep breath and let it out as he pushed himself to his feet.

 

The younger man staggered forward, until he was standing feet from his lover -or, former lover, now. "The choice is yours. You can kill me -and I won't stop you- or you can pretend this never happened. I'll go back to being your servant, and your friend, and sometimes advisor as if nothing happened. But know this: if you send me to the cells and the executioner, I'll escape and be back in your chambers the next morning to wake you up and bring you breakfast. If you want me dead, you do it yourself. Just...just don't punish Gaius or my mother. They were only trying to protect me."

 

For a long moment, Arthur was speechless. Did he really think so little of him? "I... I don't think I can kill you. Despite all the lies... I can't imagine my life without you by my side." A thought crossed his mind then. "Did you enchant me? Is that why I have these feelings for you?"

 

Anger flared to life in those blue eyes Arthur loved. "The fact that you can even ask that means you aren't. I have only ever protected you, Arthur. Sometimes from threats you didn't even know were there." Merlin just stared at his king, taking in all his features. "There was once...when I took away your will. It was when Morgana and Agravaine overtook the citadel. You wouldn't leave even though you were wounded badly enough that you couldn't fight. So, to get you out of the city and to safety, I enchanted you into a fool. And for those few days, you were safe and unburdened by your responsiblities."

 

Arthur was dumbstruck. He had wondered how they had made it out. "Merlin," he breathed. He stepped forward looking into the sorceror's eyes, and leant in kiss his lips softly. His hand came up, almost unbidden, and wiped away the tears still falling. "Tell me everything? You at least deserve for me to know all you've done. So, tell me."

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, I have no idea what that was. It sort ran away from me towards the end there. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with it either. I'm open to suggestions on how to edit it.
> 
> Also for those of you reading my Merthur fic 'Starting Over', the final chapter will be up soon. The same goes for my Johnlock fic 'Cutting the Strings'.


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